


Left Hanging

by StariWolfe



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Banter, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor, Minor Injuries, Slow Burn, Swearing, Teasing, dumbasses get got in a trap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:08:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27272443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StariWolfe/pseuds/StariWolfe
Summary: Vesper and Lemon get caught in a trap in the Dravanian Forelands and need to phone for assistance to get out.
Relationships: Aymeric de Borel/Warrior of Light, Warrior of Light/Estinien Wyrmblood
Comments: 3
Kudos: 10





	Left Hanging

**Author's Note:**

> Two dumbasses get got, what crimes will they commit
> 
> Lemon is my friend Ali's character

“Lemon, mate, will ya stop movin’ for two bloody minutes!?”

“I’m not moving!”

“Yer bloody tail is, and it’s bashed me in the face twice -ow- _three_ times now!”

“Well, I’m nervous! What do you expect me to do? I can’t really control the gods’ damned thing!”

“Yer the reason we’re even in this mess! This situation is yer fault!”

“Well, it _isn’t_ my fault that my horns got tangled up!”

Vesper let out a heavy sigh, watching the Au Ra draped across her lap. The two had been hunting for treasure in the Dravanian Forelands after Lemon had gotten a map from some peddler in Ul’dah. The Hyuran woman had immediately been suspicious of the map’s validity since, according to Lemon, the man couldn’t say where it had come from. Nevertheless, Lemon had paid a hefty sum for the map and made her way to the Forelands to search for treasure. And despite her better judgment, Vesper tagged along with her to attempt to keep the Au Ra out of trouble, and maybe try to talk some sense into her friend. And maybe to get a share of the spoils if the map was legitimate. The idea of some gil or shiny objects was always a plus in the former pirate’s mind.

“Lem, are ya absolutely sure that this thing is legit? You realize this could lead us to bandits or some shite, right?” Vesper asked while examining the map in question. It looked different than other maps that the two or their friends had found; it looked much less worn by time, and the location marked was so far out of the way that it triggered alarm bells in the bard’s head.

“Oh, c’mon, Vess! Why wouldn’t it be real? Besides, any bandits that think they can take us on are in for a surprise!” A murderous glint appeared in her eyes, and Vesper took a step away. Lemon had a fair point, as both of their legacies as Warriors of Light could prove, but that didn’t mean she wanted to run headfirst into trouble for once.

Vesper was keeping her eyes on the map as the two walked towards the marked area. From what she could tell from the map and the surrounding geography, they were about halfway to their destination. She was doing her best to keep her eyes alert; she didn’t trust this map to hold true to what it said, and this part of Eorzea was a harsh land filled with aggressive fauna and flora alike. If this ended up being false, what would they do? Best case scenario, it’s a false trail and nothing more. But the worst case would be bandits or someone who wants their heads, in which case they’d have to fight their way out.  


“Hey Vess, what’s this? Is this a trap tripwire?”

Vesper looked up and saw Lemon pointing her foot towards what was very clearly a tripwire. But before Vesper could confirm that it was a trap, Lemon went ahead and tripped it, and a net fastened to the tree above them came up and around the adventurers, trapping them in the rope prison hanging above the ground.

This is where the two found themselves now. Vesper was thankfully in a sitting position, though one arm was pinned behind her, and the other was holding Lemon’s tail at bay. Lemon was draped across her lap, unable to move due to her horns getting tangled in the ropes from their ascent into the air. Vesper had tried to free her arm to no avail; moving it would require Lemon to be able to reposition herself.

“Alright, we need to calm down and think. What’s th’ best way to get out of this?” She remembered her quiver, thinking she could use her arrows to cut through the ropes. She released Lemon’s tail for a moment to feel around her back where it should be only to find, to her dismay, that both her bow and her arrows as well as Lemon’s axe had fallen below them when the net triggered. “Damn, and I didn’t bring my daggers today. Hey, Lem, think ya can use yer horns to break through?”

“If I could, we’d be out by now. I can barely move my head. My neck hurts...” She let out a pained sigh from her position. “Maybe I should’ve gotten a blade to put on my tail or something. We’d’ve been out by now…”

“Oh, aye, and then I’d have _no good eyes_ instead of one and a half good eyes.” She touched her eyepatch tenderly, thankful that it hadn’t come loose in the chaos. Her silver eye would be hurting with the sunlight by now. “Well, I think we hafta bite the bullet and call for some help-ouch!” Vesper grabbed Lemon’s tail as it slammed into her face again. “A’right, both my hands are occupied. D’ya mind callin’ someone on yer linkpearl?”

“Sure, I’ll try. Oh, this is embarrassing...who should I call?” She put her hand to her ear to call someone, waiting for Vesper’s response.

“Th’ best idea would be to call one of our mates in Ishgard, or someone who’s attuned t’ the aetheryte over at Tailfeather. They’d be able t’ get here fastest.” Lemon’s face brightened up in a blush; Vesper assumed that meant she had an idea of who to call. And due to how red her face was, she even realized who she had in mind before the Au Ra spoke.

“I’ll see if I can get a hold of Estinien. He traveled through here with us, so he should be attuned to the aetheryte. Oh gods, Vess, he’s never gonna let us live this down.”

“Correction: he’s never gonna let _you_ live this down. I got dragged inta yer mess, remember?” Lemon sighed as she connected her linkpearl. Vesper turned her eyes to her surroundings. If Lemon couldn’t get a hold of Estinien, what then? They had to have a plan, and there had to be _something_ they could use to get out of here. If all else failed, she could try and chew through the ropes of the net like that one time-

Before she could ponder too much, it seemed there was an answer on the other side of the linkpearl. That was _much_ faster than anticipated. She made a mental note of that for later.

“Hi, Estinien. Yes, it’s me. Listen, uh, Vess and I need some help. No, no monsters, thankfully. Well, y’ see, um, we may have...uh, gotten caught in a trap. NO, no, no bandits or anything, not that kind of trap. It’s -oh how to put it- it’s one of those nets that hangs down from a tree.”  
Vesper had to stop herself from bringing her palm to her face; this could’ve gone so much smoother by now.

“Wha-stop laughing! Our weapons fell down and we’re a bit too tangled to get out of here without trouble, so please come help? We’re north of Tailfeather, a few hundred yalms. Wait, wha-oh, Aymeric!” Vesper felt her face heat up at the mention of the lord commander. “I didn’t know you were there-oh, alright, I see! Don’t worry, we’re both fine. Actually, why don’t you come along too?” She felt her face heat up even further at the thought of Aymeric seeing her in this situation, and, judging by Lemon’s sly expression, that was what her friend had wanted. 

“Yes, north of Tailfeather, bring Estinien, and please hurry! Vesper looks like she’s about to chew through-” with a quick pull of her hand, Vesper tugged on Lemon’s tail and the Au Ra yelped in response. That’d show her to say too much. “OH, uh, nothing! Nothing’s wrong, my tail got stuck is all. See you two soon, hopefully!” And with that, she ended the call and rested her hand near her head. “Was that necessary!?”

“Aye, it was! You were sayin’ way too much, mate! Not only that, but I didn’t say nary a word on my last resort idea! How did ya-”

“I know you and what you’ve done in the past!”

“...a’right, fair point. Also, explain somethin’ t’ me. How the fuck didya get Estinien to answer you so fast?”

“He promised me to answer his linkpearl more after he visited my apartment that one time, so that’s why. He said he’d try and be better about answering it after he found out I missed him.”

“...I see. Duly noted. Anywho, did they say how long they’d be?”

“About half a bell. They’ve got to get their equipment, get here, and then find us.” Vesper let out a sigh as she tilted her head back, fatigued with their time in the net.

“Loverly. So we’ve got half a bell to do naught but wait for some o’ them grizzlies to take notice of us and start sniffin’ around. I’d really prefer not to end up bear food.”

“Oh, I’m sure we’ll be fine! There doesn’t seem to be anything dangerous near here!”

“Aye, and that concerns me. A lot of the predators ‘round these parts are good at camouflage, so we wouldn’t see them. Hells, I hope our mates get here soon.”

“Well, let’s keep our minds off of it! Let’s do some things to pass the time!”

“Like what?”

“I spy with my little eye…”

Oh gods, this was going to be a long wait. Vesper kept her eyes on the surroundings whilst Lemon went on with her game. She at least couldn’t complain about the view; the Forelands, while cold, were absolutely beautiful. She’d love to come back soon when she didn’t have to babysit her nigh-feral friend. The sounds of the river flowing, the leaves rustling, the sun shining through the roots and leaves of the trees in the area...she loved this area. Maybe she should bring the free company here, or the Scions, or even come back with Aymeric when it wasn’t on urgent business.

Oh gods, what was she thinking? She knew she was bored, but she was almost _daydreaming_ about Aymeric, and that was a bad idea with him on the way. The last thing she needed was to be even _more_ of a mess when the two elezen men arrived.

“Alright, I spy...oh! I think I spy two people who look like our friends!” Vesper picked her head up as Lemon pointed the people out. Sure enough, two people who looked like Estinien and Aymeric (seriously, he was hard to miss in his bright blue uniform). She felt her spirits lift as she saw the two begin to look around.

“I should be able to get their attention. Promise not to whack me with ya tail, yea?” Lemon did her best to nod as Vesper took her hand keeping the tail at bay and put two of her fingers near her mouth. With a good puff of air, she let out a piercing whistle, causing Lemon to wince and the two Ishgardians to turn their way, noticing them immediately. Vesper didn’t fail to notice the smug look on their faces.

“Well, well, commander, what have we here?” Estinien sauntered up to where the net hung down from the tree, eyeing the Warriors of Light with unabashed amusement. “It seems there are two awfully strange chocobos in this trap, wouldn’t you say, Aymeric?”

“Indeed. Funnily enough, they look like our two dear friends, don’t they? How peculiar! How do you think that happened?” Aymeric walked around the two, raising an eyebrow at Vesper’s pinned arm and Lemon’s tangled horns.

“Get a load o’ this, Lem. I didn’t realize the fuckin’ Ishgardian Comedic Troupe was in town. Didn’t even know there was one!” Vesper couldn’t resist rolling her eyes at the two mens’ teasing. She knew this was coming, but it was still embarrassing. “But if you want to know exactly how this happened, ask her. This is _fully_ on her shoulders.” She nodded at Lemon, who was silent through the whole exchange; Vesper figured she was just mortified. She swore she could hear her friend gulp before she went into her story.

“W-Well, y’ see, there was a massive amount of poachers, and we caught them trying to...poach! Poach some chocobos, yes, that’s it! But there were too many of them, even for us, so we ran! And in our hurry, we didn’t see the tripwire, so it got tripped and...well, here we are!” Aymeric and Estinien raised their eyebrows at the trapped adventurers. Vesper rolled her head back in resignation; she was beginning to get sore, and Lemon’s story just made her head hurt.

“Lem, I’m gonna give ya about ten seconds to come up with a more believable lie before I tell them what actually happened. One, two…” Lemon began stammering and spitting out gibberish as her friend began to count down. Vesper decided to speed up the process. “...three, ten! A’right, so!”

“Wha-you didn’t finish!” The Au Ra began struggling as Vesper prepared her version of the story, but to no avail as she was still quite firmly tangled in the ropes.

“Ya took too long! So!” She turned her attention to Estinien and Aymeric. “Me an’ Lem were followin’ a treasure map up this way, and she spies a tripwire. Now, in all o’ her infinite wisdom, good ol’ Lem realizes that it could be a trap, asks me if it could be a trap, and, before I could confirm it was in fact a trap, trips the trap, and now we’re trapped. Simple, really.” Lemon went still as a board as the two men roared in laughter, groaning in embarrassment. Maybe this bit of humiliation would teach her to look before she leaped next time.

“Alright, alright! I messed up! Can you two get us down, please?” It was Lemon’s turn to sigh in resignation. “My neck is killing me, and I know Vess has to be sore, too!” Vesper grimaced as she nodded. This was not a comfortable position to be in.

“Oh, I don’t know. What do you think, Aymeric?” Estinien positioned himself closer to Lemon’s face, meeting her eyes. “I think we should get some photographs of this, to be honest. I can think of several different information outlets that would _love_ the image of two Warriors of Light caught in a chocobo trap. Might even pay well for it!” Lemon let out an indignant sound at the dragoon’s suggestion and began struggling again.

“Hey!” Estinien startled as Vesper yelled out. “If yer gonna sell pictures of us to tabloids, I demand a cut of the spoils!”

“VESPER!” Lemon was getting even more flustered, and Vesper couldn’t resist teasing her a bit more. She was serious about the cut, though. She saw Aymeric giggling maniacally behind Estinien as the silver-haired elezen tried to get his laughter under control.

“Well, Vesper! I can see that you and I finally see...eye-to-eye, as it were.” The hyur felt her face heat up. Sure, she much shorter than both of the men, and only slightly taller than Lemon, but that was a low blow!

“I’m gonna kick yer arse once we’re free, y’ know that, aye?” She met Aymeric’s gaze and pleaded with her eyes to free them, already. “Seriously, lads, I’m sore as all hell and Lemon is makin’ my legs fall asleep, can we go now?”

“My dear friend, are you tired of being...left hanging?” Vesper saw the glint of amusement in Aymeric’s eyes as he covered his face to laugh more. Seems Lemon wasn’t the only one who wouldn’t live this down.

“Oh, bloody hells, Aymeric, not you too!” She knew the two would eventually let them go, but this teasing was near agonizing for two proud adventurers. Getting caught in a trap meant for chocobos was an amateur mistake, and though it may have been Lemon’s fault, she was caught in the crossfire.

“Estinien, please? Let us out now?” Vesper didn’t have to look at Lemon to know she was giving her elezen friend the biggest puppy dog eyes she could muster. She also didn’t have to look at Estinien to know it wasn’t working.

“That’s cute, friend, but I’m not so easily swayed. Try again. Convince me.” Estinien brought a hand to his chin, very interested in how Lemon would try to sway him to let them go. He didn’t, however, consider that Vesper would try to convince Aymeric to let them go. And she was _much_ better at bartering.

“Aymeric, if I kiss ya on the cheek, will ya let me out, at least? Y’can do what ya want with our favorite feral citrus, Estinien, I don’t give a shite.” Lemon began to thrash about claiming that she would wack her friend with her tail again, but Vesper didn’t care. she put on her best ‘I’m-so-damn-tired’ face, and thankfully it seemed to do the trick. Aymeric’s features softened and he smiled fondly.

“I’m terribly sorry, Estinien, but I feel like our friends have suffered enough. Let us set them free.” Estinien shrugged in agreement as the two women in the net sighed with relief. “Now, what is the best way to-”

Before he could finish, Estinien had taken Aymeric’s sword and slashed at the part of the net above their friends, cutting it clean in two and sending the two adventurers plummeting to the forest floor, yelping in pain as they hit the ground.

“Ow, oh bloody hells, was that necessary!?” Vesper said from her position under Lemon. She stayed prone as Estiened helped her friend get off of her; that fall was a bit more painful than she thought it would be.

“Maybe not, but it was the fastest.” She heard Estinien chuckle as he helped Lemon brush the dirt off of her clothes. Vesper felt a strong arm around her shoulders as Aymeric knelt down to help her up. She winced as his hand went over her right arm; she’d landed on it when she fell, and it was incredibly painful at the moment.

“Aye, it was fast, I can attest to-OW!” She couldn’t stop her yelp as she moved her arm around to her front. “Oh hells, that’s not good. I might’ve sprained my arm.” She grimaced as Aymeric gently helped her to her feet. Looks like she’d not be continuing this little jaunt.

“Oh Gods, Vess, are you alright?” Lemon went to her friend with concern. Vesper smiled softly; they may have been playfully at each other’s throats in the net, but they were still good friends.

“Aye, I’ll be fine. Don’t think I’ll be joinin’ you for the rest o’ this trip, though, mate.” She cradled her injured limb against her chest. “I’d best head back t’ Tailfeather. I can work some healin’ magic or take some potions or some such safely there.”

“I’ll go with you, friend.” Aymeric hadn’t removed his arm from around her shoulders, and he looked down at his shorter friend fondly. “I’ll keep you safe on the way, and I can treat your wound best I can while we wait for Lemon to finish treasure hunting.”

“And I’ll go with her.” Estinien went to stand by Lemon. “After that little episode, I don’t trust you to get there and back in one piece. Or at least without getting in another trap.” Vesper snickered as the Au Ra looked at the other elezen man with indignation.

“That sounds good to me. Actually, Lem, I think I see another trap up the path there. Mind makin’ sure it’s disarmed?” Lemon didn’t even respond before trotting down the way, watching where she was stepping with great intensity. “...Alright, she’s out o’ earshot. Estinien, here’s th’ map, we’re about here on it, and, just so ya know, I don’t trust this map to lead to treasure at all. Keep her safe, yeah?” Estinien nodded as Vesper whispered her doubts to him, and as soon as she was done, he followed Lemon down the path, also watching for traps.

“And with that, shall we head to Tailfeather? We can treat your arm while we wait for them.” Aymeric began steering Vesper towards the encampment, listening to her explain why she thought the map was fake on the way.

“I see. So, because of all that, you think the map is fake?” Aymeric was wrapping Vesper's arm in a bandage as she finished her explanation. He’d made sure no beasts or otherwise had attacked them on the way back, and when they reached Tailfeather he had Vesper sit on the stairs to one of the buildings as he treated her wound as best as he could.

“Aye. It makes sense, don’t it? I know I’m not mad. At least, not that mad anyway.” She winced as he made another wrap around her arm. Aymeric had watched her use some of her healing magic on her arm, but it could only do so much. He felt bad for making her wince; he was trying his hardest to be gentle.

“It does. A map that looks like that for that price and from an unknown location is odd. I see now why you came with her.” He looked at her sympathetically as he secured the bandages around her arm. “Seems like you both just had a bit of bad luck, eh?”

“You’re tellin’ me. Enough bad luck that my arm is out of commission for a bit.” He finished securing her arm and set it in the makeshift sling that they’d made. Vesper adjusted her arm to make it more comfortable as he watched her carefully. “Not great for someone who specializes in fencing, daggers, an’ archery.”

“Not great for a Warrior of Light with a lot on her plate, either. You take too many burdens on shoulders, my friend.” He removed his cloak and placed it around her shoulders before sitting next to her. “You have many friends and allies. Don’t take everything on by yourself.”

“Yeah, but who else could I trust to-”

“You have Nocte, Altair, Kori, all of you Scion friends, and don’t forget those of us in Ishgard.” Aymeric reprimanded her gently; he knew she was capable of feats he couldn’t even dream of, but she still shouldn’t take on everything herself. “You aren’t alone, Vesper. Remember that for me.” She blushed as she turned her gaze towards her feet, pulling his cloak closer around her. It was far too big for her, but Aymeric couldn’t help but find it adorable.

“Yer right, and I know yer right. I’m just...not used to it. When ya rely on yourself for so long, it’s hard to change. Besides, less folks get caught in the crossfire if I’m the only one out there.”

“Don’t forget that I got thrown in a dungeon due to that.”

“...Alright, point made. Oh, before I forget, thanks for coming to help us.”

“I’m glad to help, and even more glad you’re alright. By the by,” he felt the heat rise to his cheeks as he began his next sentence, “I believe you owe me a kiss on the cheek?” He was delighted to see her face redden even deeper than it had been before.

“So I do. Hold y’ self still for a moment…” She scooted closer to him before giving him a gentle peck on the cheek; he couldn’t help his heart fluttering at the contact. “There, how’s that?”

“Lovely. Thank you, Vesper.” He was about to say more when his linkpearl went off. That was rare. Curious, he answered it.

“Lord Commander Aymeric here.” At the sound of the voices on the other end of the line, Aymeric began having trouble containing his laughter again. “...aye, I see. We’ll be there shortly.” He hung up quickly.

“Do I want to know what business is spiriting my good mate away?” Vesper asked as he got to his feet. She began to remove his cloak from her shoulders before he stopped her, still smiling wide.

“You’ll never believe this, but Estinien and Lemon found the spot the map marked, and _promptly_ got caught in another trap. The same type that you and Lemon got caught in.” He offered his arm to her as she erupted in laughter. “Shall we go and help them? You’ll be able to get some revenge on Lemon.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t miss it for th’ world.” She linked her good arm in his offered one as they set off up the river to help their friends.

“Lemon, we are _never_ going to hear the end of this out of those two, you realize this, right?” Estinien was in an odd position; he was facing down in the net, unable to move due to the spikes in his armor poking through the net and Lemon on top of him.

“I know. At least I’m not all tangled this time.” Estinien wished she could see his face so she’d see his face of displeasure. “Where was the treasure, thought?”

“It seems Vesper was right. This was either a prank or completely fake.” He tried again to grab at the spear that was almost within his reach but to no avail. Lemon’s axe was too far to even try to get it. “I see why Vesper was complaining about your tail, too. Stop whacking my back!”

“I’m trying! I’m nervous again!” Estinien let out a deep sigh of exhaustion.

“I guess this is what I get for poking fun at two trapped Warriors of Light.”

**Author's Note:**

> If y'all want pictures of Lemon and Vesper lmk, i gotchu


End file.
